Mobile loader with extendible boom



April 3, 1965 LE GRAND H. LULL MOBILE LOADER WITH EXTENDIBLE BOOM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 4, 1962 INVENTOR. LEGRAND H, LULL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY April 13, 1965 LE GRAND H LULL MOBILE LOADER WITH EXTENDIBLE BOOM Filed A ri1'4, 1962 A ril 13, 1965 LE GRAND H. LULL MQBILE LOADER WITH EXTENDIBLE BOOM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 4, 1962 m m m LEGRAND H. Luu.

WM H/QA ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,178,046 MOBILE LOADER WITH EXTENDIBLE BSGM Le Grand H. Lull, 5501 Woodiawn Blvd, Minneapolis, Minn. Filed Apr. 4, 1962, Ser. No. 134,992 6 Claims. (Cl. 214-141) This invention relates to a new and improved mobile leader; in particular, it concerns novel and improved boom features adapting the load carrier mounted thereon to be extended or retracted in addition to being raised and lowered.

Prior art reaching type loaders in general employ a parallelogram of frame members that are pivotally mount ed on the body of the machine. This construction, while permitting a reaching action in addition to vertical movement of the load carrier, has several limitations. The machines are high in initial cost, expensive to maintain and lack those operational characteristics necessary for the utmost in safety, reliability and efficiency. For example, reaching type loaders of the type having a superstructure pivotally mounted on the body of the machine are often unstable, particularly in rough terrain. They sway rather easily because of their high center of gravity. Operator visibility is poor because of the many moving parts that are between the work and the line of vision. Considerable power is also required to effectively shift the entire load carrying superstructure about its pivot axes during the reaching movements.

It is, therefore, an important object of this invention to provide a mobile loader that will overcome the above disadvantages and limitations.

Another primary object of this invention is to provide a mobile loader having novel and improved reaching characteristics.

Another object of this invention is to provide a reaching type loader characterized by a novel boom construction permitting loads to be elevated, lowered, retracted and extended with a minimum of effort and with greater safety.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a pivotally mounted boom for a mobile loader having novel and improved reciprocating means for extending or retracting the load carrier at the end of the boom.

A further object of this invention is to provide in a mobile loader of the type described novel and improved means for telescopically mounting a load carrying boom frame within a pivotal boom frame with a minimum of frictional losses, the resulting structure being relatively inexpensive to build, extremely rugged in design and attractive in appearance.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mobile loader of the type described having novel means for transmitting hydraulic fluid during the extension and retraction of the boom.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of illustration only.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of my mobile loader illustrating the extendible boom in two positions, itsraised and extended position being shown in full lines and its lowered and retracted position being shown in dotted lines, portions of the machine being omitted for purposes of clarity and the load carrier being shown in dotted lines;

FIGURE 2 is a central longitudinal side elevational view of the loader illustrated in FIGURE 1, partially in section, taken on the line 22 of FIGURE'3;

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FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the loader with parts removed for purposes of clarity;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view, partially in section, taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view, partially in section, taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view, taken on the line 66 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmental perspective view illustrating the boom construction of my loader;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation view, partially in section, taken on the line 3-8 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 9 is an elevational generally single line diagrammatic view of the manner in which the hydraulic conduit mounted on the loader is able to accommodate itself to the extension and retraction of the boom; and

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partially in section, taken on the line 10-40 of FIGURE 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the invention, designated in its entirety by the reference character A, includes a mobile body B, a pivotal telescopic boom C, and load carrying means D carried at the forward end of boom C.

Body B is equipped with a downwardly and forwardly inclined ramp structure 10 adapted to receive and support boom C in the downward position shown by the dotted lines of FIGURE 1. Gther boom supporting structure of body B include a pair of hydraulic lift cylinder supporting plates 12, 14- carried on each side of body B, and a pair of upstanding pivot brackets l6, l8 rigidly attached to body B forwardly of the operators position 20 and extending upwardly and rearwardly from supporting plates 12, 14. Located adjacent the upper ends of brackets I6, 18 are journal members 22, 24 which are in register with each other and which form means for pivotally carrying the rear of boom C.

Boom C consists essentially of two main parts, namely a longitudinally fixed pivotal U-shaped outer frame 3%, and a longitudinally movable U-shaped inner frame 32 that is telescopically sliciably mounted within outer frame 30.. The pivotal outer frame 30 of boom C consists of a pair of laterally spaced elongated hollow lift arms 34, 36 (box-shaped in cross section) that are connected at their rear ends by a transverse pivot member 38 and intermediate their ends by a transverse support 39. Pivot member 33 is rockably mounted within journal members 22, 24 whereby to allow for the pivoting of outer frame 3% in a limited vertical planeabout the horizontal axis defined by journal members 22 and 24. Means for pivoting outer frame 30 in the manner described consists of a pair of hydraulic jacks 40, 42 secured at one end to supporting plates 12, 14, and at the other end to brackets 43, 45 connected to support member 39. Supporting trusses 44, 46 provide additional strength to outer frame 30.

Outer frame 3%) is adapted to telescopically receive inner frame 32 by virtue of its hollow construction, as shown in FIGURE 4 of the drawings. The cross-sectional form of lift arms 34, 36 is generally rectangular in shape defining a box-like housing having side walls 43 and top and bottom walls 50, 51. Adjacent the ends of lift arms 34, 36 a pair of generally square-shaped apertures 52, 54 are cut in the top and bottom walls 50, 51, respectively. Apertures 52 and 54 may be in register with each other, as shown in FIGURE 5. A third aperture 56, similar in shape to apertures 52, 54, is cut into the top wallStl of lift arms 34, 36 intermediate the ends thereof and rearwardly of apertures 52, 54. The forward end of lift arms 34, 36 are equipped with roller means 60 while the middle section thereof is equipped with roller means 70. Roller means 60 consists of a pair of spaced rollers 62, 63, each mounted so as to extenda short distance through apertures 52, 54, respectively, of lift arm 34, 36, as illustrated in FIGURE 5. Side plates 64, 65. rotatably support rollers 62, 63 in the manner shown in FIGURES 4 and 5. Roller means 70 consists of a single roller 72 mounted upon lift arms 34, 36 so as to extend a short distance through aperture 56, which is rearwardly located from the forward end of outer frame 30. Plates 74, 76 rotatably support roller 72 in a manner similar to that shown and described with respect to rollers 62 and 63. 7

Inner frame 32 consists of a pair of laterally spaced elongated lift arms 80, 82 that are connected at their forward ends by a transverse member 84; their rear ends being slidably telescoped within the hollow confines of lift arms 34, 36 of outer frame 30. As shown in FIG- URE 4, lift arms 80, 82 are of suflicient depth and Width 7 to be slidably carried within lift arms 34, 36 in rollable contact with roller means 60 and 70. The forward end of inner frame 32 is equipped with a pair of downwardly and forwardly inclined load supporting arms 84,86, each of which form longitudinal extensions of lift arms 80, 82, respectively. A transverse support 87 connects the lower ends of arms 84, 86. Means for pivotally mounting load supporting means D such as lift forks, grab arms,

and the like may be provided at the lower end of arms 84, 86, as indicated at 83.

The means employed to impart extension and retraction movements to inner frame 32 consists of a doubleacting hydraulic boom extension jack 90 that is mounted centrally and longitudinally within the U-shaped frames 30 and 32. The rear or cylinder end of jack 90 is attached to pivot member 38 of outer frame 30 while its forward or piston rod end is secured to a rearwardly extending bracket structure 92 that is disposed longitudinally centrally of inner frame 32. As shown in FIGURES 7 and 8, bracket structure 92 includes a pairof laterally spaced elongated longitudinal support members 94, 96, which are fastened at their forward ends to transverse member 84 of inner frame 32. The rearward ends of support members 94, 96 are connected by a rigid lateral support member 98 having a central aperture 100. Piston rod 182 of jack 90 is attached at its free end to support member 98 of bracket structure 92.

Bracket structure 9 2, as illustrated in FIGURES 3, 7 and 8, also supports a tilting jack 110 which operates to tilt load carried D about axis 88 at the front end of frame 32. Jack 110 consists of a cylinder 111 the rear end of which is pivotally connected to a transverse pivot link ply fluid pressure to the jacks described. The valve means in known manner permits introduction of pressure fluid pressure is thus'allo'wed to be retained in both ends of the cylinders 'to hold the piston and consequently the boom arm C or the load carrier D in any desired set position. Thus through the action of lift jacks 40, 42boorn C may be raised or lowered in a vertical plane about rear pivot'axis '22 and held in any selected position. Downcrowdi ng of boom C is also possible with this construction. Through the action of boom extension jack 90 boom 0' may be extended or retracted either simultaneously with or independently of its pivotal movement and held in any desired position.- 'Tilting jack 110 permits the tilting of load carrier D about its lower pivot aXis 88 to Diagonal bracing. members 104, 106 provide rigidity for bracket structure a rearwardly or forwardly inclined position and held in any desired position. Similar hydraulic means (not shown) may also be provided for actuating upper grab arms or grippers that may be mounted on load carrier D.

To transmit fluid pressure continually to those jacks that are mounted upon inner frame 32 during its reciprocal movement within outer frame 30, a network of extendible and retractable fluid pressure conduits 112 are provided, as set forth in FIGURES 2 and 7 to 10 of the drawings. With the exception of FIGURE 10, conduits 112 are illustrated as a single line for purposes of clarity, it being understood that a plurality of conduits are actually provided.

The network described includes forward hydraulic tubes 114 rigidly mounted upon inner frame 32 by means of tube supports 116 secured to bracket structure 92. Further provided are rearward hydraulic tubes 118 that are rigidly mounted upon outer frame 30 by means of tube supports 120, which are secured to transverse supports 39 and 43 of outer frame 30. Connecting the rigidly attached hydraulic tubes 114, 118 are looped sections of flexible hydraulic hose 122, indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 9. When boom C is extended or retracted, loops 122expand or contract thereby allowing full line pressure to be delivered to the forwardly mounted jacks without regard to the longitudinal position of inner frame 32.

In FIGURE 10, a clamp 124 is shown. Its purpose is to restrain the separation of conduits 112-during the flexing of loop 122. A strap-like body 126 bent into a U-shape serves to hold conduits 112 in place by virtue of bolts 128 extending therethrough.

The construction of my loader permits it to be used for many purposes such as loading or unloading Wood products, building material, and the like. The loading and unloading of trucks, flatcars and platforms are greatly facilitated by the extendible boom C. The low profile resulting from my telescopic reaching action permits the handling of large loads with extreme stability. It will be noted that no movingparts of my loader are close to the operator. The lift arms of boom C do not block a his view whether raised or lowered or at any position or to one of the ends of the cylinders making up part of each jack while exhausting from the other end. Fluid under height. The operator is placed behind the hoisting mechanism in a high position so that been look forward, down and around at his work.

My loader has been thoroughly tested and found to be entirely satisfactory for the use intended. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that my'invention may be modified by many substitutions and equivalents and that this disclosure is intended to be illustrative only. In the claims when the terms horizontal or vertical are referred to, the orientation called for is to be taken as meaning a horizontal or vertical position when the machine is in a normal level position. Such language is not intended to limit or narrow the scope of the claims.

It is within the purview of' this invention to include scale model toys and other unconventional adaptations of my design and it is to be understood that I intend to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims,

1. In a mobile reaching type loader including a mobile body, a boom pivotally mounted on. said mobile body,

a telescopic boom extension carried with said boom, a pivotal load engaging structure carried at the forward end of said boom extension, hydraulic power means for raising and lowering said boom, hydraulic power means for advancing and retracting said boom extension, hydraulic power means for pivoting said load engaging structure, the combination of a network of fluid pressure lines adapted to transmit fluid to said power means regardless of the position of said boom extension, said network including'longitudinally fixed conduit means secured to said boom, longitudinally fixed conduit means secured to said boom extension, and flexible conduit means connecting said fixed conduit means, said flexible conduit means being carried in a loop over said boom and boom extension.

2. In a reaching type mobile loader including a mobile frame, an outer forwardly extending U-shaped boom including a pair of lift arms pivotally mounted at its rear end on said frame, an inner U-shaped load carrying frame including a pair of lift arms telescopically slidably carried within said boom, a load handling carriage pivotally mounted on the front end of said load carrying frame, the combination comprising:

rearwardly extending bracket structure secured adjacent the front end of said load carrying frame and disposed between the said lift arms of said load carrying frame,

said bracket structure extending substantially longitudinally between the said lift arms of said U-shaped boom when said load carrying frame is in a retracted position,

first hydraulic power means extending between the rear end of said U-shaped boom and said bracket structure for advancing and retracting said load carrying frame, and

second hydraulic power means extending between said bracket structure and said load handling carriage for tilting said load handling carriage.

3. The loader described in claim 2 wherein said bracket structure includes a rear support member connected to said first hydraulic power means, and wherein said bracket structure includes link means adjacent to said rear support member connected to said second hydraulic power means.

4. The loader described in claim 3 wherein said first hydraulic power means consists of a single hydraulic jack secured at its rear end to the rear end of said U- shaped boom and a forwardly extending piston rod secured at its end to said rear support member of said bracket structure.

5. The loader described in claim 1 wherein clamping means are provided to restrain the separation of said conduit means during the flexing of said flexible conduit means.

6. The leader described in claim 5 wherein said clamping means consists of a U-shaped body surroundingly' engaging said conduit means, and a plurality of bolts extending therethrough.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2 472,223 6/49 McElhinney et al 214-141 2,631,744 3/53 Smith 214141 X 2,767,869 10/56 Miller 214-141 X 2,791,341 5/57 Michaels et a1. 2l4141 2,827,186 3/58 Waite 214141 2,935,080 5/60 Kiimek 212138 X 2,990,072 6/61 Mindrum 214-440 HUGO O. SCHULZ, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A MOBILE REACHING TYPE LOADER INCLUDING A MOBILE BODY, A BOOM PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID MOBILE BODY, A TELESCOPIC BOOM EXTENSION CARRIED WITH SAID BOOM, A PIVOTAL LOAD ENGAGING STRUCTURE CARRIED AT THE FORWARD END OF SAID BOOM EXTENSION, HYDRAULIC POWER MEANS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING SAID BOOM, HYDRAULIC POWER MEANS FOR FOR ADVANCING AND RETRACTING SAID BOOM EXTENSION, HYDRAULIC POWER MEANS FOR PIVOTING SAID LOAD ENGAGING STRUCTURE, THE COMBINATION OF A NETWORK OF FLUID PRESSURE LINES ADAPTED TO TRANSMIT FLUID TO SAID POWER MEANS REGARDLESS OF THE POSITION OF SAID BOOM EXTENSION, SAID NETWORK INCLUDING LONGITUDINALLY FIXED CONDUIT MEANS SECURED TO SAID BOOM, LONGITUDINALLY FIXED CONDUIT MEANS SECURED TO SAID BOOM EXTENSION, AND FLEXIBLE CONDUIT MEANS CONNECTING SAID FIXED CONDUIT MEANS, SAID FLEXIBLE CONDUIT MEANS BEING CARRIED IN A LOOP OVER SAID BOOM AND BOOM EXTENSION. 